Embossing machine



Nov. 10,1925 ,176

H. E. LICHTENSTEIN EMBOSSING MACHINE Filed Aug. 30. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1925 H. E. LICHTENSTEIN EMBOSSING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 50, 1924 INVENTOR BY WM ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES HENRY E. LICHTENSTEIN, OIF HEMPSTEAD, NEW YORK.

EMBOSSING MACHINE.

Application filed August 30, 1924. Serial No. 735,188.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. LIorr'rnN- STEIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of IIempstead, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Embossing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for embossing initials, letters, insignia, etc, on various articles, such as pocketbooks, belts, and the like, and on various materials such as leather, leatherette, cardboard, celluloid and wood. lVhile my device is adapted for various uses I have designed a press which is simple in construction and operation and which may be readily used in stores and other places where merchandise is sold direct to the public, the press being adapted for impressing or embossing letters and other insignia such as the initials or monogram of the purchaser 'upon pocketbooks, billfolds, belts and many other articles. To meet this special use it is necessary that the type may be quickly assembled in the pallette, as in most cases the initials or monogram will be applied to one article for a customer and in order to simplify the operation it must be simple to attach and remove the embossing type and this I have provided for in the present device. Another object of the present press is to make it possible to quickly apply multicolor impressions and for this purpose I have arranged a plurality of pallettes hinged to swing into and out of impression position each pallette being adapted to hold its respective type in impression position and to be quickly swung out of impression position for another pallette to be swung into the same impression position. With this arrangement, multi-colored monograms can be very quickly applied to articles such as described above and the different impressions will properly register with each other, and there is a heating member for each pallette adapted to move with the pallette and to heat it for the impression operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide a press adapted for quick changes and in which the loss by imperfect impressions will be reduced to a minimum even in cases where impressions are made on articles of different degrees of compressibility and different .tl iiicil nesses. The present press is adapted for use in department stores and other retail stores for the purpose of embossing individual monograms and various other articles, and it secures the desired pressure and at the same time will not injure the articles even though articles of various kinds are operated upon. The machine is quickly adjustable, therefore, to articles of different thicknesses and it automatically provides for uniform pressure when the adjustment for thickness in each case is made. Other advantages will be set forth in the following detailed description.

In the drawings forming part of this application,

Figure 1 is a plan view of an embossing press embodying my invention,

Figure 2 is an elevation thereof,

Figure 3 is a side elevation,

Figure 4t is a vertical sectional view, and

Figure 5 is a sectional viewtaken on the line 55 of Figure 2.

I have shown the press mounted on a table or other support 1 and the frame includes the base member 2 from opposite ends of which extend upwardly two side bars 3 on the upper ends of which is secured a cross member or yoke 4. This form of frame is of rigid and yet light construction and it permits the articles to be projected to any extent under the impression members. On the cross member or yoke 4 there are brackets which have downwardly extending tracks or guides 5 spaced apart to form guides for the several movable parts and the impression head and these tracks are braced by means of horizontally extending arms 6 which are secured to the upright posts 3 and to the track members. There is a screw 7 threaded through the yoke memher 4 and'its lower end is provided with a groove 8 above the head 9 so that the head forms a means of connecting the screw with the vertically moving block 10. The collar 11 secured to this block has a flange 12 projecting into the groove 8 so that the screw 7 may turn in relation to the block and cause the latter to rise and fall with the turning of the screw, the latter having a nut 13 above the frame member by which the screw may be manipulated. The block 10 has an inserted wear plate 14 inserted in its lower face, this wear plate being made of hardened steel to reduce the wear caused by the eccentric cam 15 Which is mounted 1 i n of oscillating shaft-'16, the latter being adapted to be operated by the handle 17. There are plates 18 secured in the opposite faces of the block and these plates engagein the opposite faces of the tracks 5 for the'purpose of keeping the block alignedbetween the tracks. There is a yoke 19 which is guided between the o 'posite faces of the tracks 5 and the vertical arms 20 of this yoke straddle the block 10, so that the yoke is directly guided by the tracks and the block is guided between the arms of the yoke. the opposite faces of this yoke and they er;-

i tend over the front and back surfaces of the tracks 5 for the purpose of keeping the yoke aligned between the tracks. There are brackets 22 secured to the front andrear face plates 18 which are attached to the sliding block 10 and there are four coiled springs -3 each having one end connected with one of these brackets Q2 and the opposite ends of the springs areconnected with brackets 24c which are bolted to the front and back face plates 21 which are secured to the sliding yoke. The shaft 16 which is operated by the handle 17 has its bearings in flanged bearing plates 25 bolted to the front and rear face plates 21 whicl. are carried by the yoke. It will be noted from the above description that the tension of the several-springs 23 serves to move the yoke 19, and shaft 16 and the cam 15 ,arried thereby upwardly, so that the eccentric cam 15 is maintained incontact at all times with the wear plate 14: onithe under side of the block 10. The upward pressure of these springs will alwayslbe' the same with any given position of the cam lfi.

have shown two swinging pallettes although it will-be understood that my invention is not limited to the useof two such pallettes as a greater number may beused if desired. 1 have shown one ofthese" pallettes, 26, hinged upon a shaft 27- extending crosswise of the machine; and this pallette is adapted to swing. from the position shown infull lines in Figure 3 to the position on a line with the operating cam 15 which is the impression position;-or the pa llette may be-swun-g outwardly as shown at-the left in Figure There is a spring28 secured to a bracket 29 at oneend and the other end is connected with a pin 30 on the'end of the pallette, and'at the opposite end of the'pallet-to there. is a similar spring secured to a similar bracket, and also to a pin'on-this end of the pallette. The line of these springs is-such that the springs cross the axial-point or the center of the shaft 27 as the pallette isswung either'to the -impression or inoperative position; so that the springs have a tendency to locker setthe pallette in eitherposition. Itwill be observed that if the pallet-ts is in the impres- There areface plates 21 secured to sion position inFigure 3 the springs 28 will exert a pressure'on one side of the shaft 27 thereby holding the pallette firmly seated against the member 3land in vertical alignment with the impression cam. lYhen this pallette is swung to the left, as shown in Figure 3, the springs 28 will exert a pull on the. left hand side of the shaft 27 in Figure 3 and this will securely hold this pallette out of operative position. The pallette 32 is likewise pivoted on a shaft but on the side ofthe member 81. opposite the shaft 527 and it is adapted to be swung either into vertical alignment withthe operating cam or itmay be swung in the opposite direction to that of the pallette 26 to bring it into the dotted line position shown in l 1.. There are springs 3t secured at one end of the brackets 35 and at their opposite ends to the pins 36 on the ends of the pallette and these springs perforn'i the same function in regard to the pallettc the springs 23 perform in relation to the pallettc 26.

Each pallette has a surface 37 against which the side of the type (not shown) are adapted tO'l'GSi', and a bottom face 38 against whichthe'bottoinof the type are adapted to rest. There is'a pair of sliding jaws for clamping the type on opposite faces. These jaws are adapted to be moved toward'an'd from each other by a shaft h) having right and left hand threads 421, which shaftextends through threaded bores iirtliejaWs SQ. The shaft L0 may be turned byoperating the wing nuts 42 on the ends of-the shaft for the purpose of moving the jawstoward each other for thepurpose of clamping the assembled type. between them. Each pa'llette has thesame elements and this descriptionv applies to both.

Opera te'on.

Each pallette carries a heater e3 which is preferably of the electric type, so that each pallette is individually heated by its heater fora'purpose well known in the art. The present device may be used for embossing in a single color or in multicolors.

Where a number of articles are to be embossedwith but one color the type may be assembled and arranged in one pallette while theother pa'llette is being operated, whereas for multicolor work the type necessary for'one color impression is assembled in one pallette an'dthe type for another color or for a background; may be assembled in the second pallette. The pallettes are swung outaway from the impression position while the type is being inserted against the surfaces?! and FiS-and between thejaws 39 and .as soonasthe type have been placed in this positionthe jaws are tightened by turning theshafts d0. The type will then beclamped on four sides. The article to be embossed. is placed in position ltlf) til below the movable head and one of the pallettes is swung into position in line with the impression cam. The handle .17 is placed in a vertical position which will bring the type into low position. Then the screw 7 isturned down until the type just touches the work with a light pressure. The handle 17 is now thrust to either a forward or rear outward position which raises the type out of the work and enables the operator to place on either the type or the work a gold or other substance which is to be embossed and to adhere to the article which is being worked. It also enables the operator to turn down on the screw 7 a predetermined distance. Now, this distance will vary according to the type face which is being used and the material on which it is being used, the amount of heat being used, and the nature of the gold leaf or other substance which is being made to adhere to the work by means of the sizing. All of these elements enter into the problem but once determined they remain constant. I prefer to use less heat on my type and a slower and deeper impression than most people use. In all other machines the time during which the type is in contact with the material being embossed is only inaccurately gauged and requires considerable skill on the part of the operator as the handle must be pulled down and then reversed in motion and allowed to come up again, or as in the case of one kind of machine the handle must be swung from right to left and again from left to right as that machine will only cause the type to rise for any considerable distance above the work when in the right hand position. Now, with my machine the time in which the type rests against the work may be very accurately gauged by swinging the handle at acertain definite speed from the forward to rear position or from the rear to forward position, the time taken to do this varying from one-half second to one or two seconds. Allowing for the depression of approximately one-twentieth of an inch into the work represented by a half turn of the screw, the amount of time of the impression will bear a definitely smaller relation to the total time to make the complete movement from front to rear or from rear to front of the handle as the amount of this depression in inches bears to the angular displacement of the cam in inches. There fore, when the handle is pulled from the rear to the front position the type moves down upon the work, makes an impression into the leather or other material for the exact distance below the surface that the screw 7 has been turned down from the position in which'the type just touched the work, and then it rises from the work. The only thing necessary now to make a new impression is to swing out the first pallette,

swing in the second pallette, place the new color on the work and then throw the handle in the opposite direction. It will be noted that the fall and rise of the type due to the cam is exactly the same whether the handle 17 be swung from front to back or from back to front. It will be noted that the cam 15 always exerts a pressure against the wear plate 1-1 directly in line with the center of the shaft 16 and directly in line with the screw 7 and directly in line with the center of the type and this secures a more perfect impression and without bind ing action between the parts.

The article has now received a double impression, both impressions registering with each other and the same pressure will have been exerted in both impressions. It will be understood that if the embossing is to be only in one color the second operation above described will be omitted.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An embossing press comprising a base, a frame for supporting an impression head over said base, an impression head comprislng an upper member and a screw for ad justably supporting said upper member different distances from the base, a lower head member adapted to carry the embossing type, springs tending to move said head members toward each other, and a cam for forcing the head members'apart.

2. An embossing press comprising a base, a frame for supporting an impression head over said base and having depending, vertical guides, a yoke-shaped member movable between said guides, and adapted to carry the impression type, an upper head block sliding between the arms of said yoke, a screw for adjusting the position of said block, springs tending to move said yoke and block in one direction, and a cam for forcing them in the opposite direction, to force the type toward the bed.

3. An embossing press including a base, a frame for supporting an impression head over said base, vertical tracks on said frame, a yoke-shaped member slidable against the opposed faces of said tracks, face plates on the opposite faces of said yoke and engaging opposite faces of the tracks to guide said yoke, face plates on said block engaging the sides of the track to guide the block, a screw for adjusting the elevation of said block, springs for moving said yoke toward said block and a cam for moving said yoke and block apart.

4. An embossing press comprising a base, a frame for supporting an impression head over said base, a vertically movable impression head mounted on said frame, a plurality of pallettes hinged to said head on axes ar ranged at different sides of the vertical center of said head, each pallet-te being adapted to be swung into and out of the same position in vertical alignment with said head.

5. An embossing'press comprising-a base, a frame for supporting an impression head over said base, a vertically movable impression head mounted on said frame, a plurality of pallettes pivoted to said head on axes arranged at different sides of the vertical center of said head, each pallette being movable into and out of a common position on a vertical line with said head, and springs connected with said head and said pallettes and adapted to cross the line of said pivots whereby said springs will serve to hold said pallettes either in impression position or in the inoperative position. v

6. An embossing press including a base, a frame for supporting a movable head on said base, an impression head mounted on said frame, a plurality of pallettes pivoted to said head on different sides of the vertical central line of said head, said pellettes each being adapted to be swung into and out of position in vertical alignment with said head and a heating device attached to and movable with each pallette.

7. An embossing press comprising a base, a frame for supporting an impression head over said base, a vertically movable impression head mounted on said frame, a hinged pall-ette carried by said head and having a type socket including a wall for engaging one edge of the type, a base wall for engaging the bottomof the type, the top and front of said socket being open, and jaws movable toward and from each other for engaging the ends of a set of type disposed in said socket.

8. An embossing press comprising a base, a frame for supporting'an impression head over said base, a vertically movable impres sion-head mounted on' said frame, a pallettc pivoted to said head and movable into and out ofimpression position in the vertical line of said head, and a spring connected with said head and said pallette and adapted to cross the line of a pivot of said pallette whereby said spring will serve to hold sa'd pallette either in im pression position or in the inoperative position.

In an embossing press the combination of abase, aframe for supporting an impression head over said base, arct-ticalb; movable impression head mounted on said frame, a plurality of pallettes hinged to said head, each pallette being adapted to be swung into and out of the same position in vertical alignment with said head, and a self-centering jaw associated with each pallette for holding the type whereby when the type are gripped by said jaws automatic registry between the type in their different pallettes will be obtained. I

Signedat the city, county, and State of New' York, this twelfth day of August,

HENRY E. LICHTENSTEIN. 

